By Published Apr 22, 2026, 10:30 AM EDT Megan Peters is the Deputy Editor at ScreenRant for comics, anime, and manga. Her career in entertainment journalism spans more than a decade as she built coverage lanes at ComicBook under CBS and Paramount following years of freelancing.
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If there is one thing the appreciates, it is being left alone. Bruce Banner's alter ego is not a creature you'd call social by any stretch of the imagination, after all. Since the hero was introduced, the Hulk has been a major player in the Marvel Universe, and he's never afraid to tell his colleagues to back off. Despite being a key member of teams like the Avengers, the Hulk likes his alone time, and so Marvel kept that in mind as it delivered the hero their perfect ending.
The whole situation comes to light today as part of Hulk: Smash Everything. The short series debuted under Ryan North for Marvel Comics as a way to let the Hulk blow off some steam. As the series has progressed, the Hulk has done his damnedest to get away from people, and that led him to (literally) exile himself at the Earth's core. As you may have guessed, this destructive retreat put the whole planet's fate in the balance, but it gave Marvel the perfect route to end the Hulk's story.
So what does the hero do? Well, he decides to leave humankind behind. After unlocking a major power boost, the Hulk manages to save the Earth before secretly running to Antarctica and retiring. Good for him.
The Hulk's Ending Is Perfect & Bittersweet
In the fifth issue of Hulk: Smash Everything, the series comes to a close as the . The hero's desire to be alone caused him to smash through the Earth's crust, leading him deep into the core of the planet in a bid for solitude. This decision caused havoc on the Earth's surface as tremors and earthquakes rocked every continent, leading humanity to assume the end was nigh. Hulk's power forced the entire planet to fall apart, and to be frank, the hero was okay with humankind suffering up above.
Of course, the Hulk's nature won in the end as his heroic side shone through. Living within the Earth's core, the Hulk not only unlocks the godlike power of a titan while underground, but he is able to use the new powers to stabilize the Earth. This decision not only saves the Hulk's life but the rest of humanity. After the deed is done, the determined to retire for good as the rest of the world presumes the hero died in the Earth's core. In the end, the Hulk gets what he wanted — to be alone — but the question remains whether that isolation will last.
Marvel Is Far From Finished With The Hulk
After all, Marvel may have given the Hulk a bittersweet ending in this spin-off series, but the universe is far from finished with the Hulk. Marvel Comics is hot off the heels of One World Under Doom, an event dating back to 2026 that saw Victor von Doom take over Earth. With the event finished, the fallout of Doom's actions are now rippling through the universe, and the Hulk is very much a part of that web. as writer Chis Zdsarsky promises to let the Red Hulk run wild.
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With the Avengers forced to contend with Red Hulk's ambush against Latveria, the Marvel Universe will assemble a special Hulk task force to aid the team. The limited series will pit some of the universe's biggest villains against our heroes, and of course, as the latter tries his hand at ruling Doom's homeland. The first issue of Avengers: Armageddon will launch on June 10 with issue one, so as you can see, Marvel is just getting started with its plans for the Hulk.
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